(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Az Shabandri meets a maestro who continues to spread sweetness at 71.Dropping squiggles of batter in piping hot oil Rehmat Ali makes jalebis the sweet loved in South Asia with great finesse and reverence in his small shop in the heart of Deira. Rehmat Ali at his shop. -KT Photos by Muaz Shabandri.
The 71-year-old veteran has been making sweets at Sweets Centre for the last 35 years.
The shop is hidden in a bylane off the busy Sabkha Road. Popularly known as the Sabkha Bazaar area the place is filled with small shops selling footwear other leather products dry fruits and electronic goods.
One of Dubai’s earliest marketplaces the Sabkha Bazaar is home to ethnic eateries from India and Pakistan. Leyari’s famous chicken tikka is a must-have delicacy for people visiting the bazaar for the first time.
A lesser-known eating place is the Sweets Centre right opposite Leyari. After a lip-smacking plate of kebabs and parathas people stop over at the small quaint shop for its delicious lassi and falooda. The faded green walls give the place an ancient look.
With just a few sweets on display in a glass cabinet the shop could easily be missed. But ask the local traders about the place which makes jalebis and you will be directed to it right away.
“I came here on January 14 1979. I still remember the date clearly because it is my first memory of this city. From that day till today I have been making snacks for a living” says a sweat-soaked Rehmat Ali.
Every day he makes a variety of snacks and sweets going about his daily business without any ado.
“If you meet me at breakfast I will make you the best aalu parathas. Come in the evening and you will find yourself surrounded with samosas pakoras and jalebis. There is something for everyone inside this little place” he smiles.
The creaky wooden chairs inside the shop are reminiscent of the eatery’s history. Back in the early 1980s Rehmat Ali was one of the few master sweet makers in Dubai known as halwais. No celebratory occasion is complete without sweets and the halwais.
“Once you work in a sweet shop you learn to do everything that comes your way. On regular days customers have different varieties of parathas. Jalebis samosas lassi and falooda are the most popular dishes.”
The septuagenarian doesn’t show any sign of slowing down. Though he can make every dish on the menu there’s a lot more for him to learn still.
“I learnt sweet-making in Pakistan” he says. “In a sweet shop if there are 101 varieties of sweets the ustad has to know how to make all of them. You can learn as much as you want. There is never an end to recipes.”
The title of ustad comes as a mark of respect. An ustad is tasked with training the people under him in this case to create the perfect tasting food with a deep-rooted history.
“When I first came to Dubai the price of jalebis was only Dh6 for a kilo” he reminisces. “Today the price is still reasonably cheap.” Sweet Centre charges Dh16 for a kilo.
On Eid the shop puts up a special display outside with different varieties of sweets. From sweets laced with nuts milks and dry fruits to samosas pakoras and vermicelli the small eatery is transformed into a sight to behold.
“I learnt all this from my ustad in Pakistan who was a master at making sweets and snacks. It takes more than a year to learn the popular varieties. The ustad trains his students by putting them in charge of the cooking at weddings and small parties. In Dubai this tradition is not so well-kept because everyone tends to call themselves an ustad when they start working. There are no students here.”
Rehmat Ali doesn’t plan to stop working anytime soon. He has got one of his three sons into the sweet trade.
“People come here to eat and forget their worries. Everyone has something that they like. I rarely recommend anything to customers because you can never guess what food they may like or dislike” he says.
He takes out the fried jalebis from the hot oil and dunks them in sugary syrup as another day passes by in his life. Rehmat Ali a little-known ustad lost in the bylanes of Old Dubai.
muazkhaleejtimes.com
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